The Cards Can Tell
by michiruneptune
Summary: Eli doesn't see what is happening with Nozomi. With their friends be able to help their friendship?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: She Will Not Know 

"Nozomi, are you ready?" Eli's voice called in a delighted tone, grabbing the last bit of paperwork and placing them into her bag.

Nozomi gathered the last few of her tarot cards in her hands. "I'm ready now, Elicchi." The violet haired girl walked over to the blonde's side with a soft smile.

Elicchi looked directly into Nozomi's teal/green eyes. To her surprise she didn't see the happy light she usually saw. Nozomi's eyes seemed more distant and lonelier than usual. Eli looked at her friend concerned. "Is everything alright Nozomi?"

"Huh? Everything is fine, Elicchi. Why would you ask?" Nozomi pushed all her feelings to the pit of her stomach to not reveal anything.

Eli smiled and shrugged her shoulder. "I thought I would just ask." She glanced down at the cards in Nozomi's hand. "What did the cards tell you today?"

Nozomi followed Eli's eyes down to her hands. Nozomi grinned back at Eli. "They said Elicchi will be wearing a sexy dress very soon."

Eli's face grew red and flustered. "Eh? N-No-Nozomi?"

Nozomi leaned closer to Eli's ear and whispered. "I'm just kidding. Today is a secret." Nozomi giggled running past Eli and out of the Student Council Office.

Eli stood there frozen trying to recall all Nozomi just told her until she realized. "N-Nozomi!" Eli sprinted out the room, chasing her giggling friend's echo.

Eli raced through the hall finally catching up to Nozomi who was waiting for her by the lockers. "Geez Nozomi. You can't just tease me and run away like that."

Nozomi giggled putting her cards away into her bag. She tilted her head to the side. "Oh? I can't do that?" Nozomi gave the out of breath Eli an innocent look. "Does that mean Elicchi wants to punish me now?"

Eli's face turned red as a tomato. "What?! N-Nozomi!" 

"Hai, hai, Gomen. Elicchi~ " Nozomi laughed walking over to her designated locker besides Eli. The two girl changed from their school shoes, closing the lockers behind them.

The way Nozomi said her name at that moment made Eli's heart pound in an uneven pace. Her lips planted on her face with a huge smile.

They walked quietly exchanging glances on occasion. Nozomi kept a smile on her face as they approached the corner where they will take their leave separately as usual. Eli was the first to stop at the corner followed by Nozomi.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow. Good night Nozomi." Eli gave her friend another look before turning her back to her.

"Goodbye Elicchi." Nozomi waved in her usual manner. She noticed for the first time ever Eli stopped to look back at her.

Once Eli was far enough away Nozomi made her journey home. "Goodbye Elicchi~" she whispered to herself gazing up at the night sky. 

"Good morning, Eli-chan!" The group of idol girls shouted in unison from the top of the shrine stairs. Eli smiled and waved back at the seven girls. Eli placed her belongings in her usual spot.

"Okay now that we are all here we can begin morning practice." Umi began pulling out her stop watch from her pocket.

"Hold on. What about Nozomi? She's not here yet." Eli interrupt, taking her place beside Umi to check which girl made it up faster.

Kotori looked over at Eli. "Nozomi called late last night saying she wasn't going to come to practice today. I guess she had things to attend to this morning."

Eli exchanged confused looks with different members of the group. "Hmm...she didn't say anything to me yesterday. Well then let's begin practice."

"Practice nya~" Rin cheered racing her way down the stairs. 

After practice the girls went their separate ways to their classes so they weren't late. Eli reached her classroom with two minutes to spare. She approached her assigned desk and glanced at the desk behind her which is usually occupied with Nozomi but today it was empty. "I wonder if she's alright..." Eli quickly took her seat when the teacher began class. Through the day Eli found herself constantly thinking about Nozomi. She never had a day where Nozomi wasn't with her and this day made Eli feel terrible but why? 'Elicchi~' Eli looked frantically around the classroom for the voice of her friend but there was nothing there of Nozomi's presence. 

The bell rang bring Eli back from her distraction. "It's lunch already?" She grabbed her belongings and her lunch. She went outside to meet with the others who were already at their usual table. "Hey everyone." Eli smiled taking her seat.

"Nozomi didn't come to school today nya?" Rin looked over at Eli, taking a bite of her apple.

"No, I wonder if she's okay." Eli opened her bag taking out her bag. "I'm sure she is though since she never missed school before."

"I texted her earlier and she said she was fine but it's not like her to miss school." Umi responded taking out her phone.

Eli sat up taking her phone out of her school bag. "I don't know why I didn't think of that." Looking down at her phone searching for Nozomi's name. She paused for a moment to admire the cute contact photo she had of Nozomi remembering the day she captured that photo. Eli sent a message to Nozomi 'Nozomi are you alright? Is it okay for me to come visit you after school?'.

"Yeah!" Nico responded looking at her phone receiving a message from Nozomi. "I'm going to miss practice today. I'm going to give Nozomi-chan the school work she missed for today."

"Huh?" Eli looked back at her empty message box on her phone. 'Why would she ask Nico and not me?' She thought to herself.

Everyone looked at Eli then back at Nico. "Since when did you two become good friends?" Maki teased out of her comfort zone since Nozomi was not there to do it herself.

"Shut up!" Nico shouted with a sandwich hanging down her mouth. "I don't know she just asked me for it. She should have asked Eli-chan since they are in the same classroom but whatever. Everyone wants help from the best idol in the world Nico!"

Umi watched Eli from a distance not engaging herself in conversation with the others. She noticed a look she's only seen a few times before when Umi and her friends were fighting to become an idol group. Eli stayed this way for most of the lunch period, staring down at her phone. Everyone gathered their belongings with lunch almost coming to an end. The girls raced to their next class together but Umi decided to stay behind with Eli who was walking slowly to class. "Hey are you okay, Eli-chan?"

"Huh? Yes I'm fine. Why would you ask?" Eli didn't make any eye contact with Umi, she just stared off into the distance.

"Are you and Nozomi alright? You kept looking at your phone all day in lunch." Umi placed a hand on Eli's shoulder to stop her from continuing her walk to class.

"Nozomi and I have never had a fight and I don't think we would ever fight. I think we're fine maybe she just didn't get my message." Eli kindly jerked her shoulder away from Umi's grip. "Thank you for walking with me Umi-chan. I'll see you at after school practice." Eli left Umi behind walking into her classroom.

Eli sat back down in her seat and looked back at the empty desk behind her and smiled. "There's nothing wrong. She would tell me if there was." She flipped her phone open to check her messages again before class but it was all still the same. "Blank."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: I Hate You but Love Me Please

After their afternoon practice Eli made her way over to Nozomi's apartment with chocolates and takeout food from Nozomi's favorite restaurant. "I hope Nozomi is well enough to eat this if she's sick." Eli counted down the number of the hallway she's seen many times before. Reaching Nozomi's door she raised her hand to knock on the door but the door was already opening with Nico coming out. "Oh Nico-chan you're still here."

Nico hang her head low and tried her best to keep a cheerful voice. "I was just leaving but you should leave too if you can." Nico looked up and smiled, "Nico Nico nii~" she chanted running off into the direction of the exit.

"I wonder what that was all about." Eli knocked on the door and walked in. "Nozomi? I'm coming in." She made her way into the kitchen, placing the food onto the counter. "Nozomi?"

Nozomi came out of her bed room tying her robe tighter. "Elicchi...I wasn't expecting you."

Eli was surprised to see the condition Nozomi was in. Her eyes were bloodshot red, her face was extremely puffy and her cheeks were stained with dried up tears. She walked over to Nozomi gently placing a hand on the violet haired girl's cheek. "I'm sorry… I sent you a message but I don't know if you received it but I brought you dinner and chocolates."

Nozomi jerked her head away from Eli's hand and smiled. "I did receive it but I didn't respond to you."

"Yeah, I know you didn't. I was left wondering why all day but I came to the conclusion that you were to sick to answer so many messages." Eli's smile faded when Nozomi moved away, leaving her hand empty and cold. "Are you feeling sick?"

"I didn't want you to come!" Nozomi blurted out. She bowed before Eli, "Gomen Eli but I don't want you here." Her voice cracked a tear falling straight to the floor.

Eli stepped away from Nozomi. "W-what? You didn't want me to come? We've always been there for each other if we were sick." Eli walked over to Nozomi placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't cry it was my fault for coming without permission."

Nozomi moved her body away from Eli's touch but remained bowed. "Please leave...just leave now and don't come back." She spoke in a low voice, falling to the ground her body in pain.

"NOZOMI!" Eli took Nozomi into her arms and carried her to the bedroom. "Nozomi." Eli panicked gently putting Nozomi into bed.

Nozomi groaned and winced in pain. "Leave…Leave now!" She shouted holding her stomach, rolling to her side to look away from Eli.

"Are you insane? I can't leave you like this!" Eli looked around for some medicine. A white bottle captured her attention across the room on Nozomi's desk. Sprinting over she grabbed the bottle of liquid with the spoon. "Come on Nozomi open up." She sat beside Nozomi feeding her the unwanted liquid.

Nozomi moved back to her first position curling into a ball. She laid there quietly as silent tears raced down her face.

Eli laid in bed holding Nozomi close. "Shh...shh..It's alright Nozomi." She gently caressed the strands of Nozomi's hair. "I'm here for you."

Eli's soothing voice and gentle touch made Nozomi cry even more. "Leave…" She whispered repeatedly.

Eli looked down at Nozomi with a hurt look which was a mistake. Nozomi's crying face made Eli's heart break. It wasn't like Nozomi to cry about pain related things.

Nozomi pushed Eli away giving them a major amount of distance. "Leave...I-I don't want to be your friend anymore."

"W-W-What are you saying?!" Eli's heart shattered in pieces hearing the words coming out of her best friend's mouth.

"Don't make me say it again." Nozomi sat up as best as she could and looked directly at her friend with tearful eyes. "I don't want to be your friend anymore! I want nothing to do with you so get out!"

"N-Nozomi…you can't be serious." Eli walked closer and tried to reach out for Nozomi. Her vision blurred with tearful eyes.

"GET OUT NOW!" She yelled still looking down. She wouldn't dare to see Eli's face because she could hear the pain in her voice. "NOW!"

Eli sprinted out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Nozomi looked up and saw the food Eli left behind with her. Tears filled her eyes to the point where it hurt. She ran into her room throwing herself on her bed. "Sorry…" She laid there for hours with nonstop crying.

Waking up from a nap she didn't plan, Nozomi walked over to her dresser where she had her tarot cards nicely stacked. "Maybe this was all a dream." She picked up the first card on top. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" She threw the stack of tarot cards on the floor. Looking back at the mirror where she thought she would dee her reflection but instead she saw a sad Eli looking back at her. "STOP!" Pulling her arm back she slammed it full force into the glass. Tears filled her eyes again. Not bothering to examine her sliced hand, she fell to her knees. "I'm sorry.." Whispering softly she picked up the cards one by one hugging them tight. "You are all I have left. I'm sorry…" Crawling back to the bed she noticed the blue pillow on the edge of her bed. When she thought she could feel no more pain her heart shattered into even more pieces. She leaped onto the pillow hugging it tight, smelling the pillow in her face. "Elicchi~"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: What Can We Do?

The following day Nozomi was ready for the school day like any other day. Already dressed she looked at the mirror to fix her hair but the challenge was more difficult than expected because there was only a small piece of glass that remained on the mirror. "I guess this is the best it will be." Giving up she grabbed her schoolbag and made her way out to school.

"SHE DID WHAT?!" The girls cried out in unison leaning towards Nico.

"It's what I said, she quit." Nico leaned back away from the girls close faces. "She told me to tell you that today. We got into a huge argument but she just doesn't want to do it anymore."

The group looked back to Eli who was standing in the background silently. The huddled back together and whispered. "Do you think she knew?" Maki looked over towards Honoka.

"I don't know but she really doesn't say much. Do you think something happened with them?" Umi chimed in.

"She's been off all morning like she doesn't know the dance nya~" Rin looked back at Eli with the entire group following her actions.

"Eli-chan do you know something we don't?" Honoka folded her hands together with worried eyes.

Eli didn't make contact with any of the group members. She diverted her way towards her belongings picking them up. "Who knows but we can't depend on her. Our goal is Love Live and we must continue to do our best with what we have." She turned her face sideways walking towards the shrine stairs. "I'll see you all at school."

Everyone stared at Eli in shock with their mouths wide open. Kotori broke the silence of the group. "Was Eli-chan crying?"

The group members directed their heads toward her. "She was crying so something might have happened. Eli-chan wouldn't cry for just anything."

"Nico you have to tell us everything Nozomi told you."

"I'm not suppose to say anything at all, Umi-chan. Nozomi already threatened me a Washi Washi of death if I do." Nico took a few steps back away from the group.

"Nico-chan I will threaten you with something worse if you don't tell us." Maki appeared from behind the group, twirling her hair around.

Nico laughed hearing Maki. "You can't do anything to me. I'm Nico Nico Nii~" She smiled with her hands to the side of her head in her Nico pose.

Maki didn't bother to look at Nico. "If you don't then it's over. We will be over."

Nico watched Maki's serious expression in fear. "Y-You wouldn't do that to Nico Nico-"her chant was cut off by Maki who was already covering Nico's mouth.

"I seriously mean it Nico. This will count as keeping a secret from me and you know I don't like secrets. Now I'm going to let you go and you will tell us everything." Maki released the defeated Nico who just sighed.

"Fine so this is what happened…" The group huddled together as Nico explained what happened. "…and then Eli-chan appeared when I was leaving so something may have happened when I left."

"Whoa! Who knew Nozomi-chan had so much to go through nya~"

"She always seemed so happy." Umi looked down.

Kotori placed a hand on Umi's shoulder. "I was obvious Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan were very close but neither has admitted to any related feelings."

"Well we have to keep an eye on them because something is going on." Maki twirled her hair.

"Like spies? Let's do it! Nico-chan gets first watch!" Honoka cheered with the rest of the group nodding in agreement.

"WHATTTTTTTTT?!" Nico watched the rest of the group in shock. "That's not fair but okay I'll do it since I don't want to do math right now."

The girls put their hands in the center of the circle. "Ready? BREAK!"

Eli walked into the class room looking down with sad eyes. Making her way to her desk she noticed the desk behind her was occupied with a familiar body. The figure didn't look her way but instead they were concentrated on writing in a notebook. Eli's face couldn't help form a smile seeing Nozomi. "Good Morning, Nozomi." Eli smiled brightly, taking a seat.

Nozomi did not bother looking up from her notebook, ignoring Eli's greeting.

Eli turned around to see if Nozomi bothered to look up at her with a smile like she usually did to brighten up her day. "Nozomi?" Eli noticed Nozomi's sliced up hand that began to bleed. In quick response she grabbed Nozomi's and was ready to clean it properly. "What happened? Your hand was not like that yesterday."

Nozomi pulled her hand away from Eli's grasp. She didn't look up from her notebook and just continued writing. Hearing Eli's voice was much harder than she expected. Tears were already forming but she sniffled them back.

Eli was shocked by Nozomi's behavior, her heart shattered again from yesterday. Eli stood up angrily. "YOU CAN'T QUIT MUSE! IT WAS YOUR IDEA TO BEGIN WITH!"

Nozomi quietly collected her books, letting her bleeding hand drip over them. She glared at Eli with cold, tearful eyes. "All of it is already done. Good bye Ayase, Eli." Looking away she walked past Eli before the class began.

After their first session the idol girls gathered together in the club room except for Eli and now the ex-Muse member Nozomi.

"Who else heard what happened in their class this morning?" Umi asked looking at all the other girls worried.

"I did, that's all the seniors were talking about nya~"

"So did I." Maki looked over at Nico. "Is what they are saying true?"

Nico nodded her head. "Yes, it was pretty bad. Nozomi didn't even let Eli touch her and you know she loves physical contact."

"I heard from my mother that Nozomi is taking a break from school and doing her studies at home and she also quit the Student Council." Kotori looked at Umi with sad eyes. "She's been avoiding Eli the most so something must have happened between them and we need to find out."

Honoka stood in the middle of the group taking a firm stance. "Muse will not end this way! I have a plan. Today we will not have practice instead we will split up into groups. Kotori, Rin and Nico will go see Nozomi-chan and try to get her side of the story. Hanayo and I will go visit Eli-chan. Maki and Umi you will work together and try to create a duet song for Nozomi and Eli to sing. We will get our group back together no matter the cost!"

"W-Whaaaaaat?!"


End file.
